Tax Attorney in Burbank, California

Both, depending on the residual stream. Residuals paid by signatory producers under the SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement for re-use of theatrical features, television, new media, and commercials are generally reported on Form W-2 with regular FICA withholding and federal and California state income-tax withholding. Residuals routed through the SAG-AFTRA Residuals Department from non-signatory or pension-plan transitions sometimes arrive on Form 1099-MISC Box 3 (other income) or Form 1099-NEC, depending on the issuer. A loan-out corporation receiving residual income through the talent's S-corp gets the income on Form 1099-MISC routed to the loan-out's EIN rather than the actor's SSN. Reconciling residuals to year-end W-2s, 1099s, and the SAG-AFTRA Year-End Statement is one of the most common Burbank actor and animation-voice-talent return preparation issues. SAG-AFTRA Pension and Health Plan contributions under §401(a) and §501(c)(9) appear as employer contributions and do not reduce W-2 Box 1 directly; voluntary deferrals into the SAG-AFTRA AFTRA Retirement Fund or the SAG Producers Pension Plan reduce Box 1. Treating all residuals as Schedule C self-employment is a frequent error that produces self-employment tax exposure on income that was already FICA-withheld at source.

Loan-out S-corporations remain a recognized structure for above-the-line talent — actors, directors, writers, producers, showrunners, and similar — when properly capitalized, when the talent is a bona-fide employee of the corporation, and when reasonable compensation under United States v. Watson and Rev. Rul. 74-44 is paid as W-2 wages before any distributions. The IRS attacks loan-outs primarily on the reasonable-compensation question (S-corp distributions disguised as the bulk of compensation to avoid FICA) and the §269A/§269 personal-service-corporation rules. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act took away one historical benefit by capping the §199A QBI deduction for SSTBs (performing arts qualifies as SSTB) above the income phase-out ($241,950 single / $483,900 joint for 2026), but loan-outs still offer state-tax planning, retirement-plan flexibility (Solo 401(k), defined-benefit plans), and Section 162 business-deduction discipline. California recognizes loan-outs under R&TC §17041 but applies the $800 minimum franchise tax under R&TC §17941, the LLC fee under R&TC §17942 (if LLC), and AB 5 / R&TC §621 worker-classification scrutiny. Studios that paid loan-out income on Form 1099-NEC must now confront the 2020 changes to box reporting (NEC vs MISC) and the post-AB 5 reclassification risk.

When an animation or VFX studio reclassifies you from 1099 contractor to W-2 employee mid-project — usually after an AB 5 review by their employment counsel or after an IATSE / Animation Guild Local 839 organizing wave — the tax effects layer on three sides. First, the studio backdates FICA and withholding for the W-2 period and issues a corrected Form W-2 (or, if late, a Form W-2c). Second, for the 1099 period the studio may issue Form 1099-NEC and you owe self-employment tax on that portion under IRC §1401 (15.3% combined). Third, if you already deducted home-office, equipment depreciation, software subscriptions, and other Schedule C expenses against the 1099 income, the W-2 reclassification does not retroactively remove those deductions for the pre-reclassification period — but it does limit future deductions because unreimbursed employee business expenses are suspended through 2025 under TCJA §67(g). The California side under R&TC §621 follows similar logic, with the EDD able to assess back state withholding (PIT, SDI) and unemployment-insurance contributions. We work the post-AB 5 reclassification cases on the federal Form 8919 (uncollected FICA from misclassified employee) and California EDD DE 938 paths together when the studio's correction is incomplete.

IRC §181 lets a qualified film, television, or live theatrical producer elect to deduct up to $15 million of qualifying production costs ($20 million for productions in low-income or distressed areas) in the year incurred, rather than capitalizing them and recovering through income forecast under IRC §167(g). The election applies to productions where at least 75% of total compensation is paid for services performed in the United States. Burbank-shot productions on the Warner Bros. lot, the Walt Disney Studios lot, the Burbank Studios complex on Olive, NBC studios, or Nickelodeon Animation Studio's 231 W. Olive Ave facility comfortably meet the U.S.-services test. The §181 election interacts with §168(k) bonus depreciation in important ways — for productions placed in service through 2026, 100% bonus depreciation under §168(k) on qualified film/TV/live-theatrical productions remains available as an alternative path, with the bonus rate stepping down (60% in 2026, 40% in 2027, 20% in 2028 under current law absent extension). California also offers the Film & Television Tax Credit Program 3.0 administered by the California Film Commission, which provides a 20-25% nonrefundable credit against California income tax for qualified expenditures in California. The federal §181 and California credit are separate elections and stack. Documentation discipline matters — sworn budget statements, certified payroll records (Form WH-347 or California equivalent), and chain-of-title for ownership entity matter for both the §181 election and the California credit allocation.

Through 2025, no, if you are a W-2 employee — IRC §67(g) suspended miscellaneous itemized deductions including unreimbursed employee business expenses through tax year 2025. Union dues paid by W-2 employees, professional training, union-required equipment, and travel between studios are non-deductible for federal purposes during this period. California decoupled from §67(g) and continues to allow miscellaneous itemized deductions on Schedule CA (540) subject to the 2% AGI floor — so a Burbank IATSE Local 80 grip, Local 728 lighting technician, or Local 839 animator can still deduct dues and reasonable employee business expenses for California tax purposes. If you operate through a loan-out S-corp, however, the expenses flow through the corporation as ordinary §162 business expenses and reach you net of the corporation's deduction, sidestepping §67(g) entirely. Post-2025 expiration of TCJA provisions (currently scheduled for tax year 2026 onward absent further legislation) may restore the federal miscellaneous-itemized-deduction line — the planning posture changes year to year. Track and document dues, training, and equipment contemporaneously regardless of current deductibility; the records carry value if the law changes or if you transition to a loan-out.

If aggregate balances across all your foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the calendar year, yes — FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR) is required, filed electronically through the BSA E-Filing System by April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15. The Glendale-Burbank Armenian-American community is the largest Armenian population per capita in the United States, and inherited accounts at Ameriabank, Ardshinbank, ACBA Bank, Converse Bank, and HSBC Armenia routinely cross the threshold without the U.S.-resident heir realizing the obligation. Form 8938 attaches to Form 1040 if higher specified-foreign-financial-asset thresholds are exceeded ($50,000 single / $100,000 joint at year-end for U.S.-resident filers; higher for U.S. taxpayers abroad). Property in Yerevan held in your name (not the account, but the deed) does not trigger FBAR by itself, but rental income from Armenian property must be reported on Schedule E and any in-country bank account that receives the rental income does trigger FBAR. The Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures (for non-willful U.S.-resident filers) and Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures (for non-willful U.S. taxpayers abroad) provide compliance paths for missed prior-year FBARs. The 2023 Supreme Court decision in Bittner v. United States, 598 U.S. 85, capped non-willful FBAR penalties at $10,000 per form per year (not per account), which substantially changed the math on Streamlined non-willful certification. Willful FBAR penalties still reach the greater of $100,000 or 50% of account balance per violation, so non-willful path eligibility matters.

Performance royalties from ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC for film, television, streaming, and broadcast use of compositions you wrote are reported to you on Form 1099-MISC Box 2 (royalties). The character of the income depends on the relationship. If you are a working composer or songwriter in the trade or business of writing music, the royalties are self-employment income reported on Schedule C and subject to SE tax under IRC §1401. If you inherited compositions or hold a passive interest as an investor, the royalties are passive royalty income reported on Schedule E and not subject to SE tax. Sync licenses (a separate payment from synchronization rights) are typically negotiated through the publisher or directly with the studio and reported on Form 1099-MISC Box 1 (other income) or Form 1099-NEC depending on the payer's classification. For Burbank composers scoring projects at Warner Bros., Disney, NBC Universal, or for series produced on the Burbank Studios lot, the most common audit issues are: (1) failure to capitalize the writer's share of music-publishing income separately from the performance-royalty share; (2) Schedule C versus Schedule E classification disputes; (3) loan-out S-corp structures where the music-publishing entity collects royalties but the composer is the human services-provider for §269A purposes; and (4) self-employment-tax allocation when half the income is active composing work and half is passive royalty stream from past compositions. Section 199A qualified business income deduction applies but performing arts (which includes composers in some IRS interpretations) is an SSTB subject to phase-out above $241,950 single / $483,900 joint for 2026.

Under 49 USC §40116, the only states that may tax airline-crew wages are the state of residence and the state where the crew member performs more than 50% of scheduled flight time. For a BUR-based pilot or flight attendant living in California, that is California for both prongs and the analysis is straightforward — full California taxation. For a crew member who moves to Nevada, Arizona, Texas, or Florida but continues to fly primarily out of BUR, only California-allocated wages remain California-source. The 50% test uses scheduled block time, not flight hours alone. The Franchise Tax Board's residency-and-allocation audit team routinely requests bid lines, scheduled-block-time reports, deadhead logs, and reserve-line activity for the audit period. SkyWest and JSX maintain rotating crew bases at BUR, and the BUR-based JetBlue / Spirit / Southwest operations create wage-allocation traffic similar in shape to the LAX, OAK, and SAN airline-crew populations but smaller. Misallocation between California and a low-tax state of residence is one of the recurring FTB audit triggers for BUR crew. The fix retroactively requires FTB Form 540NR amended returns with a residency-establishment memo addressing the Appeal of Bragg (2003-SBE-002) closer-connection factors at the same time.

Two parallel issues. First, post-2022 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act amendments to IRC §174 require five-year amortization of research and experimental expenditures (15 years for foreign research) rather than the historical option of immediate deduction. For an engineer or program manager at Walt Disney Imagineering, Lockheed Skunk Works legacy contractor work in the Burbank-Palmdale-Plant 42 corridor, or NASA JPL-adjacent contractors (JPL itself sits in La Cañada Flintridge a short distance away), the change increases current-year taxable income materially on R&D-intensive projects. The §174 capitalization mandate operates at the entity level, but cleared employees often consult through Schedule C or single-member-LLC entities that bear the impact directly. Second, the TS/SCI and DOE Q-clearance framework creates disclosure constraints on outside-employment Schedule C income, consulting reporting, and FBAR-equivalent foreign-account disclosures under SF-86 Continuous Evaluation and the Reportable Affiliations and Activities annual update. Foreign Travel Reporting under DODD 5240.06 overlaps with FBAR for cleared employees with family abroad. We coordinate with the employer's Facility Security Officer (FSO) when any disclosure touches the SF-86 or the annual Foreign Travel Report at the same time an IRS or FTB matter is in motion. Burbank's proximity to the historical Lockheed Skunk Works site (Plant B-1 at the south end of Bob Hope Airport, now redeveloped) and the active aerospace corridor reaching El Segundo and Hawthorne means a meaningful cleared-employee population sits in Burbank routines.

Four overlapping items. First, IRC §280A limits deductions when personal use exceeds the greater of 14 days or 10% of rental days; second-home owners near the studio lots often trip the personal-use clock with seasonal blocking. Second, when the average rental period is seven days or less, the activity is not 'rental' for passive-loss purposes — it is a trade or business under Treas. Reg. §1.469-1T(e)(3), which means material-participation testing under IRC §469 governs deductibility. Third, the City of Burbank imposes a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) of 12% on stays of 30 days or less under Burbank Municipal Code Title 3, plus a business tax under the City's Business Tax Certificate program for any entity transacting business inside city limits, plus a Utility User Tax of 7% on telephone, electricity, gas, and water service. Burbank also restricts short-term rentals — the City's STR ordinance limits unhosted rentals and requires registration with the City Clerk's Office. Fourth, the federal Schedule E versus Schedule C question turns on the average rental period and the level of services provided (substantial services like daily cleaning, concierge, or breakfast push the activity toward Schedule C trade-or-business treatment). Non-compliance with the City of Burbank Business Tax and TOT registration produces enforcement notices from the Finance Department, and unregistered STRs can be cited under the City's Code Enforcement program. Disputes appeal through the Finance Department first and then to the Burbank City Council or LA County Superior Court.

Often yes — on income sourced to California after the move, and sometimes on residency grounds if the FTB believes you never severed your California-resident status. Under Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §17041 and FTB Publication 1031, equity compensation (RSUs, stock options) that vested while you rendered services in California is California-source income on sale, even years after you relocate. Severance and accrued vacation paid out post-move based on California work tenure is also California-source. For entertainment-industry departing residents — actors, directors, writers, animators, producers — residual payments earned on California-shot productions remain California-source under FTB Publication 1100 sourcing rules. Loan-out corporations registered in California must dissolve, register as foreign, or pay the $800 minimum franchise tax until properly terminated. Separately, the FTB applies the Appeal of Bragg (2003-SBE-002) closer-connection factors under R&TC §17014 — location of personal items, where your spouse and children live, voter registration, professional licenses, vehicle registration, real-property holdings, social and religious ties, financial accounts, and time spent in California — to determine whether you actually became a nonresident on the date you claim. Burbank-area entertainment-industry residents who relocated to Henderson, Summerlin, Scottsdale, Austin, and Reno have been inside the FTB departing-resident audit wave since 2020.

Twenty years from the date of assessment under R&TC §19255 for personal income tax administered by the Franchise Tax Board. That is twice the federal IRS Collection Statute Expiration Date under IRC §6502 (10 years). The four-year statute on FTB assessment runs under R&TC §19057, extended to six years for a 25% omission of gross income under R&TC §19058, and unlimited for unfiled returns. Tolling rules differ between the federal and California statutes. For a Burbank taxpayer with overlapping federal and California liabilities, the two-clock problem drives resolution strategy: a Partial Pay Installment Agreement that runs out the federal CSED may make sense in some fact patterns but does nothing about the California side that still has 15 more years to recover. Always pull both IRS Account Transcripts and FTB MyFTB records before negotiating anything and calculate the actual CSED for each tax year accounting for tolling events (pending OIC, bankruptcy, CDP hearing, Innocent Spouse claim, continuous absence from the United States for six months or more).

The U.S. Tax Court holds Burbank cases at Los Angeles trial sessions, conducted at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building at 255 E. Temple Street, Los Angeles CA 90012 — approximately 13 miles south of Burbank via the I-5 or SR-134 / US-101. A petitioner designates Los Angeles as the preferred place of trial on the petition under Tax Court Rule 140. Los Angeles is one of five California Tax Court trial cities along with San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, and Fresno. The Notice of Deficiency triggers a 90-day petition window under IRC §6213(a) (150 days if the taxpayer is outside the United States). Small-tax-case procedure under IRC §7463 is available for deficiencies of $50,000 or less per year and uses simplified evidentiary rules. Filing a petition stops collection of the disputed deficiency until the case resolves and preserves the option of paying nothing pending litigation — distinguishing Tax Court from refund litigation in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, both of which require payment in full before filing.

The two are administered by separate cities under separate municipal codes, with different rates, definitions, and filing schedules. The City of Burbank business tax is administered by the Finance Department under Burbank Municipal Code Title 3 and uses a gross-receipts-based fee schedule with multiple business classifications (professional, retail, services, manufacturing). The Los Angeles City Business Tax (LACBT), by contrast, is administered by the LA Office of Finance under LAMC §21.00 et seq. with a separate gross-receipts schedule and a distinct exemption regime (the 'small business' exemption with gross receipts under $100,000 and the 'creative artist' exemption with creative receipts under $300,000 specific to entertainment). Burbank's structure does not have an equivalent creative-artist exemption, so an actor, writer, director, or composer based in Burbank generally owes the Burbank business tax on Burbank-sourced gross receipts even when LACBT would exempt them. Loan-out corporations physically operating from a Burbank office are subject to the Burbank business tax in addition to the California $800 minimum franchise tax under R&TC §17941 and any LLC fee under R&TC §17942. Some Burbank entertainment-industry residents discover this only when the Finance Department issues a back-tax notice or when escrow on a residential sale flags an unpaid business-tax balance.

Yes. IRC §7345 authorizes the IRS to certify 'seriously delinquent' tax debt — currently $62,000 for 2026, indexed for inflation — to the State Department, which may then deny passport renewal or revoke an active passport. The certification reverses when the debt is paid, an Installment Agreement is in place, an accepted Offer in Compromise is in force, an active Collection Due Process hearing is pending, or Innocent Spouse Relief is in process. Burbank exposure runs heaviest in the Armenian-American population traveling to Yerevan and Tbilisi for family business, BUR-based airline crew flying international routes for code-share partners, entertainment-industry professionals traveling abroad for productions (location shoots in the UK, Europe, Australia, Eastern Europe, and Asia are routine for WB, Disney, and Netflix series), and aerospace contractors with international program work. Decertification typically processes within 30 days once a qualifying resolution is in place. Passport-revocation exposure has tightened since the IRS restarted full §7345 referrals in 2024 after the COVID-era pause.

Yes. Communications between you and a licensed attorney for the purpose of seeking legal advice are protected by federal common-law attorney-client privilege, subject to the usual exceptions (crime-fraud, waiver, third-party presence). California Evidence Code §954 provides parallel protection at the state level. The narrower federally-authorized tax-practitioner privilege under IRC §7525 applies to non-attorney CPAs and Enrolled Agents in noncriminal civil federal tax matters only, and does not extend to criminal-tax matters, state-tax matters, or written tax-shelter communications. An attorney handling your tax case retains the broader privilege that survives criminal investigation — which matters significantly if a civil IRS or FTB audit shifts to a Criminal Investigation Division referral. For Armenian-American clients with FBAR exposure on inherited Yerevan accounts, for entertainment-industry clients with cross-border production income, and for any taxpayer with potential willfulness exposure on offshore reporting, the broader attorney-client privilege is materially important because willfulness determinations carry potential criminal exposure under 31 USC §5322 and IRC §7201.